Confusion
by Trevor the Enchanter
Summary: "He slowly opened his eyes, trying to focus through the pain." After the accident, Vlad wakes up in the hospital, unsure and terrified of what has happened to him. Companion story to "Bonding".


Vlad opened his eyes, trying to focus through the pain. He was only dimly aware of his surroundings. He saw a bright light, which his eyes were trying to adjust to. He tried turning onto his right, ignoring the signals of pain it sent through his body.

Slowly, he became aware of where he was. _Wait, how did I end up in the hospital? _He put his hand on his face, hissing in pain. He felt a whole bunch of bumps on his face, small, almost like zits, but he hadn't had those for two years. The memories came flooding back: his warnings, Jack turning on the machine, the explosion, the pain.

Vlad pushed himself out of the hospital, finding that his muscles have grown weak, and decided to explore his surroundings. He was surprised not to see his friends there. He spotted a calendar out of the corner of his eye, shocked to realize that it was February 9, over two months since the accident. _I've been unconscious that long? What's happened to me?_

From the look in the window, it was night, with the moon and stars in the sky, uninhabited by clouds. Perhaps that was the reason no one was here. He felt a flash of anger towards his friend: _How could he do something so stupid? How could he do this to me? _Still, however mad he was at the moment, perhaps he could forgive him in time. After all, this was an accident, not a deliberate attempt to hurt him.

Suddenly, he felt the pain in his face begin to reduce. It continued to do so until it had all but disappeared. Vlad didn't understand the reason, but neither did he particularly care. His muscles stopped giving him trouble as well. _If I've been out this long, no wonder my legs are weak. Why am I not feeling it anymore?_

Still, it wasn't something he was going to complain about. In fact, he felt stronger than he ever had before. "This ought to cut down on physical therapy." Vlad chuckled; apparently Jack's habit to make bad jokes had rubbed off on him.

He saw a bunch of boxes and letters near his bedside. Vlad decided to open one of them, seeing a bunch full of candy. There was a note inside:

_Dear V-man:_

_Please wake up soon! You're the best friend I've ever had, just like Maddie, and I couldn't live with myself if I learned you died! I'm feeling horrible about this. I miss seeing you, talking about ghosts, and just joking around. Maybe I sound like a girl saying this, but it's true._

_What am I saying? You'll wake up; you have to! Maddie just got her blue belt in karate; seems to be all she talks about! But this is tearing her apart inside; you can see it in her eyes. I practically had to drag her away from this place so she could get some sleep. We're both hoping for your recovery!_

_Jack_

Despite his anger, Vlad felt kind of touched. He put the note down and closed the box. His sweet tooth could rival Jack's, but he wasn't exactly in the mood to eat candy right now. Oddly enough, though, he didn't feel hungry, either. That could have been because of the IV he ripped out, but there was something nagging at him. He took a look at another note from Maddie.

_Dear Vlad:_

_Good news! I just got my blue belt in my karate lessons! I just wish you were here with me to watch. It's still hard to believe this has happened to you. Neither of us can catch a break, huh? I'm just hoping you pull through. The doctors told us they've never seen anything like this! _

_Suppose it's no use wondering "what if". I just want you to know that you're my best friend and nothing is going to change that. You've always been there for me when I needed you. Your parents are concerned about you too; the doctors literally had to shove your father out of here so they could try and help. I've been doing all kinds of research about supernatural maladies, but nothing seems to match your case. Just hang in there; when you wake up, I hope things can get back to normal. Please don't blame Jack; he's killing himself over this_

_Maddie_

Vlad resisted the urge to sneer. Like his parents would actually give a damn, except to how it affected their reputation! Neither of them had ever been there for him when he came to them, saying that he should handle things himself, that he shouldn't be so weak. They didn't like him hanging around Jack or Maddie who were the only true friends he ever had in his life.

He rubbed his face, finding that all the zits had disappeared. _Okay, I know that isn't possible. Even the best treatments don't get rid of them that fast. _Vlad was starting to get freaked out, not sure what was going on. He grabbed the third and final letter.

_Dear Vlad:_

_Let's just start out by saying that words can't express how sorry we are. We know we were never there for you much as a child and there is no excuse for it. Hopefully, you will forgive us one day and let us try to make amends. Rest assured, anything we can do for you, anything at all, we will. _

_You're lucky to have such great friends; they refuse to leave your side, no matter what. We thought that they only cared about you for money, that they were using you, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Once you wake up, once you recover, we hope you'll see us. _

_Love,_

_Mom and Dad_

Vlad felt like tearing the letter to pieces. So they decided to try and be good parents now? Too late! 20 years too late! _You couldn't be bothered to try and help me before; why should that change now? No, your damn parties and your own life, your job was far more important than your son! If I ever have kids, I'll never do what you have!_

For the first time, he stared at his hands. They were black, almost gloved, where they shouldn't be. At first, he thought there were just gloves, but he found that he couldn't pull it off. _What's going on? _His eyes trailed to the rest of his arm, which was white. Vlad gasped in horror, putting his hand on the bed to steady him, only to find himself falling on his face.

Increasingly panicked, he found himself looking at the window and he saw his reflection. His hair was pitch black, his eyes were glowing red, and his tongue ran along his fangs. Vlad felt his heart pounding, feeling the room begin to spin. His face was a light blue and he had a black triangle on his chest. _What's happened to me? What's happened to me? _Vlad started breathing hard, on the verge of a panic attack.

He raised his arm, only to find that it was see through and halfway through one of the walls. _Am I… dead? Am I a ghost? _Vlad couldn't think of any other explanation. Did that mean that he was inside a morgue?

_If I was dead, why did I have an IV attached to me? Why did I have letters from my friends hoping from my recovery? They wouldn't do that if I was already dead, would they? _He tried to keep his mind logical, but there was little logic to be found in this situation. Vlad paced around the room, his hands behind his back, trying to make some kind of sense of the situation.

Before he knew it, he was floating outside, 20 feet above the ground. He gasped and before he knew it, he fell to the ground. Instead of the crippling pain he had expected, it was nothing more than a slight sting. Vlad looked at his hand and found it to be its regular shape. _Okay, now this is even more confusing. None of this makes the least bit of sense! How is this possible? _

A thought wondered to him: _Is it possible that I'm… both ghost and human? From everything I've read, it's never even been discussed. If my friends find out, would they accept me? Don't be foolish, Vlad! Of course they would! _But that thought did not disappear.

Deciding to try and make the best of it, he focused hard, trying to summon that energy again, especially since outside that "form" for lack of a better word, he was weak and in a lot of pain. Vlad felt exhausted after walking for only a couple minutes and his legs were shaking from the effort of supporting him. He focused hard and saw something go around him, almost like… rings, gray rings.

Now in his other form, Vlad felt all his energy come back. He decided to see if he could fly, trying to will himself up in the air. _This seems almost like a comic book where you get powers from a weird turn of chance and decide to save the world. _However, he wasn't at all sure that's what he wanted to do with them. He could still hardly believe he even had them. _This could be a weird dream of mine and I'll wake up anytime now._

To experiment, he punched a nearby tree, creating a hole but causing him to hiss in pain. "Nope, this seems real to me." Than another fear struck him: what if this was exposed to the world? He was not about to let anyone run tests on him, but at the same time, what could he really do to fight back? Vlad couldn't control what few abilities he had, and didn't understand them at all.

He started floating up in the air, reaching a height of about 30 feet. "Okay, now what?" He muttered to himself. He tried to fly across, tried to get his body to fly. He moved slowly for a few seconds before losing control and crashing to the ground again, groaning in pain. His powers deactivated and he was back to his former self. "If I'm going to figure these out, I need to find a less painful way to do it."

The streets were deserted and he decided to take a walk around the area. Vlad had a part of him that knew it wasn't a good idea, but he needed to clear his head. He considered going to Jack and Maddie, telling them that he was awake. _Should I tell him about this or not? _He debated with himself as he walked down the street, starting to regain a bit of his old strength back.

His mind went through all the information he had read about ghosts. Not a single book or article said that this kind of thing was even possible. It meant he was completely on his own when it came to trying to figure this out. Should he tell his friends or not? They had supported him, leaving out the fights they sometimes got into, but would they accept him for what he was now?

Vlad took a shortcut through the park, occasionally tripping over twigs and branches. He felt tired, almost ready to collapse, but he pushed on. _I think I'd better just get it off my chest. Even having them reject me would be better than not knowing. It's just… how do I tell them? _He knew where they were still living in the dorms, assuming that they hadn't finished school. He wasn't even aware of what year it was. For all he knew, it could have been 20 years!

Vlad turned back into his ghost half, wanting the strength to continue. He knew he would have to change back to talk to them, to get them to hear him out. He was close to Jack's dorm when he spotted his friend talking to Maddie. "Come on, Vlad, get it together." He whispered to himself.

It seemed like they were just about to retire, since they stopped near the dorm. Vlad walked closer, his heart pounding, trying to muster up the courage to reveal himself. He walked one step at a time, opening his mouth to reveal his presence…

Only to see Jack and Maddie kissing one another. Vlad's eyes and mouth widened, speechless. _How could you possibly do this to me, Jack? I told you I liked her! You said you understood, that you'd help me! But no, I can't have anything good happen in my life, could I? You can attract girls like magnets, though I've never understood why. Couldn't you have helped me just once, you bastard?_

He stared furiously at the pair, feeling furious and heartbroken at the same time. Vlad could have forgiven Jack for the accident, but for betraying him like this… "Not a chance!" he hissed to himself. Jack was far more sociable than either he or Maddie was. He connected to people easily, had groups of friends who all liked something, something Vlad envied a great deal. People never seemed to like being around him much, and betrayed him on a regular basis.

Maddie was kind of the same way, although unlike him, she deliberately stayed away from other people, especially after the incident junior year. She wasn't that outgoing before it, but afterwards, she refused to be around anyone but Jack or himself. Vlad liked her then as well, but a relationship wasn't possible at the time.

It faded for a while, but over the past year, his feelings had returned, a lot stronger than before. He confessed it to Jack, who said they would make a good couple, and that he'd try and set them up. _Well, I now know what that is worth. _

He ran back to the hospital, collapsing more than once along the way. Vlad was trying to get that image out of his mind, with no success. He panted hard, with his limbs turning intangible at random, which only hindered his progress. The pain in his face only intensified, but now it didn't seem so horrible, not compared to what he felt in his heart.

Finally, he reached the hospital, trying to change back into his other form so he could get back to his bed without anyone seeing him. He knew his friends would likely try and visit, but he didn't want to see them now. If he laid eyes on Jack, he'd trying to punch every inch of him he could. Vlad knew it probably wouldn't do much, since even before the accident, Jack was always a lot stronger than he was.

_Wait a minute; I seem to be a lot stronger in my ghost form. I'll bet I can defeat him with it, assuming I can ever control these damn powers! _Despite his fury, though, Vlad was unsure about wanting to take that step. Could it be any kind of a misunderstanding? _What's not to understand? I saw him kissing Maddie! _

He got back into his bed, pretending nothing had happened. Vlad laid there for an unknown amount of time, unable to clear his clouding thoughts. He feared being thrown aside because of their new relationship; in spite of Jack's actions, he and Maddie were still the only friends he had. Vlad wasn't sure what he could do without them.

His mind was split in half, torn between tearing Jack apart and listening to whatever explanation he had. One thing was certain, though: he was going to have plenty of time to make up his mind in this damned place.

X X X X X X X X X X

I know I should probably have written this a long time ago, but better late than never, right? As always, please click my favorite button.


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